Inside the New York Yankees clubhouse with MLB.com beat writer Bryan Hoch.

Yankees have heard from Vlad, Ibanez

The Yankees have heard from the representatives for free agents Vladimir Guerrero and Raul Ibanez about their opening at designated hitter, Newsday’s Ken Davidoff reports.

Guerrero and Ibanez could join a crowd of candidates vying for the Yankees’ attention in the wake of last week’s Jesus Montero trade to the Mariners. New York is known to have reached out to the representatives for Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Carlos Pena, but it is believed that the Yankees have only between $1 and $2 million to spend on a DH.

Internally, the Yankees are touting a tandem of Andruw Jones and Minor League slugger Jorge Vazquez to tackle DH duties, while also using the spot to help rest players like Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira. Davidoff’s report also noted that Jack Cust’s representatives talked to the Yankees, but Cust agreed to a contract with the Astros on Tuesday.

Personally, I would rather see Vlad than Pena any day. Vlad has hit at or near .300 while Pena has struggled the last few years to hit his weight, plus he is getting old and a strikeout machine, he’s basically an all-or-nothing hitter. I doubt Pena can play in NY.

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